Second weekly honor for Cantero

BY ANDRES FOCIL

FAYETTEVILLE – Bryan Cantero, member of the University of Arkansas men’s cross country team, has been named the Southeastern Conference Freshman Runner of the Week following his effort at the 22nd Annual Chile Pepper Festival. This is the second honor in as many races for Cantero; he was also selected the top freshman after the Stanford Invitational (Sept. 28).

"Bryan is going to be a player for us all year long," head coach Chris Bucknam said. "He’s going to continue to get better as he goes through the years. He’s an outstanding competitors and he’s just scratching the surface now. I don’t think you’ve seen his best race yet on the cross country course."

Making his collegiate 10K debut at Chile Pepper, Cantero crossed the line in 29th-place overall and clocked in with a time of 30:25.56. He was Arkansas’ sixth finisher in the race. Running in his second meet in Cardinal and White, the Aoste, France, native finished first among other freshmen in the race; he was the third overall freshman runner to cross the line.

"Bryan has had to make a huge adjustment in his life," Bucknam said. "He’s come over from France and had to get used to the academics of the U.S. college system. Right now, he’s handling it real well. I know he was disappointed with his race Saturday because he felt he could have fun better. Those are the kind of kids you like in your program, the ones that have high expectations."

In the most current release of the USTFCCCA national poll, the Razorbacks come in as the No. 10 team in the nation. Arkansas is the top rated team in the SEC with Florida and Alabama checking in at No. 26 and 27, respectively. In the South Central region rankings, Arkansas maintains its top spot.

The Razorbacks will take the next two weeks to prepare for their next race, the 2010 SEC Championship meet in Columbia, S.C. The 8K event will be held Monday, Nov. 1, and hosted by the University of South Carolina on Hilton Field at Fort Jackson. Log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com for more information.